American Political Science Research Guide

The American PoZiticaZ Science Research Guide to their efforts. Individuals in administra is a new series dealing generally with Ameri tive positions will also find that the APSRG offers a means for keeping current on public can government and specifically with public administration, state and local government, policy questions, despite the normal restric the legislative and executive branches, and tions of time and circumstance. the judiciary. The key to the entire program is the use of the data base of the Political Science Series of As an innovative idea, the APSRG is an approach to political research which focuses upon a the Universal Reference System. Combining ele single area within the discpline of political ments of the definitive URS Supplement and a science. The first in a proposed series of refined indexing procedure, the APSRG is pro softcover research guides, the APSRG is repre duced under the superv~s~on of the same schol sentative of the guiding principle of provid ars who develop that annual supplement.

This text introduces students to the discipline of political science and the research process by teaching them how to conduct basic political research without overwhelming them with statistical theorizing and calculation. Political Science Research has three objectives. First, it gives students the scope of the discipline by acquainting them with what political scientists do and study. Second, it familiarizes readers with the methods that political scientists use to examine pertinent questions. Third, the text guides readers through each stage of the research process: topic selection, literature review, hypothesis formulation, data collection, input and analysis, and the writing of the final report.

“A compelling case for transforming how research methods are taught to undergraduate students of political science.” —London School of Economics Review of Books Each year, tens of thousands of students who are interested in politics go through a rite of passage: they take a course in research methods. Many find the subject to be boring or confusing, and with good reason. Most of the standard books on research methods fail to highlight the most important concepts and questions. Instead, they brim with dry technical definitions and focus heavily on statistical analysis, slighting other valuable methods. This approach prevents students from mastering the skills they need to engage more directly and meaningfully with a wide variety of research. With wit and practical wisdom, Christopher Howard draws on more than a decade of experience teaching research methods to transform a typically dreary subject and teach budding political scientists the critical skills they need to read published research more effectively and produce better research of their own. The first part of the book is devoted to asking three fundamental questions in political science: What happened? Why? Who cares? In the second section, Howard demonstrates how to answer these questions by choosing an appropriate research design, selecting cases, and working with numbers and written documents as evidence. Drawing on examples from American and comparative politics, international relations, and public policy, Thinking Like a Political Scientist highlights the most common challenges that political scientists routinely face, and each chapter concludes with exercises so that students can practice dealing with those challenges.

This dictionary offers the only comprehensive collection of profiles of American political scientists, each of whom contributed significantly to the intellectual development of American political science from its beginnings in the late-19th century to the present. This second edition includes 22 new and 110 revised entries, reflecting new scholarship that emerged during the 1990s. Numerous experts helped the editors develop this consensus group of the 193 political scientists who have made the most important theoretical contributions over the years, with attention to varied approaches and the different subfields. Alphabetically arranged entries focus on the main ideas and major works by each scholar, listing list the most important publications by and about the individual. There are numerous cross-references to show how the work of one scholar has influenced another in the discipline. Appendices list the political scientists by degree-granting institutions and by major fields. A short bibliography points to important general readings about the profession. A general index makes this major reference easily accessible for broad interdisciplinary research.

Even students capable of writing excellent essays still find their first major political science research paper an intimidating experience. Crafting the right research question, finding good sources, properly summarizing them, operationalizing concepts and designing good tests for their hypotheses, presenting and analyzing quantitative as well as qualitative data are all tough-going without a great deal of guidance and encouragement. Writing a Research Paper in Political Science breaks down the research paper into its constituent parts and shows students what they need to do at each stage to successfully complete each component until the paper is finished. Practical summaries, recipes for success, worksheets, exercises, and a series of handy checklists make this a must-have supplement for any writing-intensive political science course. New to the Fourth Edition: A non-causal research paper woven throughout the text offers explicit advice to guide students through the research and writing process. Updated and more detailed discussions of plagiarism, paraphrases, "drop-ins," and "transcripts" help to prevent students from misusing sources in a constantly changing digital age. A more detailed discussion of "fake news" and disinformation shows students how to evaluate and choose high quality sources, as well as how to protect oneself from being fooled by bad sources. Additional guidance for writing abstracts and creating presentations helps students to understand the logic behind abstracts and prepares students for presentations in the classroom, at a conference, and beyond. A greater emphasis on the value of qualitative research provides students with additional instruction on how to do it.